Complete High Poly to Low Poly Workflow - Zbrush Maya 

Thank you for doing this. Great pace of tutorial too: no waffle, straight to it, explained why you were doing things. 👍

Wow i have always wanted to know how to make a 3d turd.

OMG... Finally a tutorial that takes you from point A ---point Z. This is been so beneficial.(especially with Quixel and Maya / ZBrush and ending in Unity.) Thank you so much for putting this together. Beyond Perfect. Love it and Please keep more coming. Thank you.

A video with so much information shouldn't even be free. I'm paying for 3D school, and I've learnt more with a free 30 min video tutorial on youtube than months in an expensive school. Shows how shit education is right now. Thank you so much.

A damned 6 year old video teaches me more than I've learned in the past month trying to find good high quality information or courses on how to do this. This was really all I needed, but people just aren't releasing properly informative stuff on this workflow in 2022. Sure, you can find a bunch of long course that you have to rifle through for an hour, and there are 12 different ways 12 different people tell you to do it. But finally, I feel like I got what I needed today. Now I can move on with all my projects I was kind of stuck on for a bit. Good work on this one!

Is there a s[ecific reason that you baked the AO with Knald instead of xNormal or any other program?

Hello, Is there any scale of how many Active Points for which game engine is fine? I went from 5.5 mil. to 1.1k for CryEngine, is that enough? What do you think?

Why would you use the XNormal instead of ripping the normals out of Zbrush itself? I believe you can set it up with the low poly version grabbing the high poly version right out of Zbrush.

Thank you so much for this. I'm pretty familiar with maya but I'm iffy with Zbrush.

I got a problem, maby u can help me. If i export the my zbrush model as obj and import it in unity+ normal map, its look nice... like my highpoly.... But if I import it into maya ( to chance stuff) and then export it as obj and then inport zo unity... it looks not right. normal map works but I see the lowpoly and not the 100% from the normal map. Its hard for me to explain xd

16:50 zremesh & project all = for better topology then export the highest subdiv level as high poly.obj and the lowest sub div level as low poly.obj then bring borth into xnormal

, my subscribtion is like giving money , and i just gave you my money , good tut ma8

Thank you so much! I've been taking a 3D modeling class and it's so hard to find good and informative videos like this.

Do you have a tutorial for how to do the same thing with characters? That's what I need the most

Hi , if i have many different parts of high res subtools , should i merge them all together and retopo them all as 1 low poly or separated like the high res for baking normals?? :D

why do we need a high and low for texturing in the first place? i dont get the concept of having both since having more edges all over the model wont affect the texture right? that is all dependant on the quality and pixel rate of itself no?

Do I need to create low poly models if it's for stills only -- not a game engine nor animation? For example, I want to create a wooden plank with details created in Brush and import it into Maya for a final scene render. Yet every tutorial I see for that workflow is game-based and emphasizes low poly for that reason. So I'm wondering if it's applicable. I also understand the benefits of lower poly for Maya to handle it easier and for UV-ing. I just wish there was a tutorial for non-game assets.

How did you manage to get the Facebook Notification thing to work on windows 10 ? Never worked here

DISREGARD MY PREVIOUS COMMENTS KNALD IS THE BADASS SHIT support got on and we figured out the issue within 20 minutes was a problem with intel integrated graphics i7 7700 etc. installed the proper driver to let the GTX handle business and its all good

Fantastic, glad to have finally found a channel showing a useful workflow keep it up man. Would there be any chance in the future of you making a basic human character with this sort of workflow just to see the process again?

I have been struggling for awhile to make high to low poly and keeping the great detail in low poly for Unreal Engine 4. I didn't understand how to do it But this video help me SO MUCH to understand how to do those things now. Thank you for this great and super helpful video! :D

Hi, I am a little confused about, doubling the poly of the high poly on the low poly and then trying to add normal map, I do not understand as the low poly is higher than the high poly and it looks better so why and what does the normal do? currently, on a Mac so cannot follow the tutorial fully :P but just a question thats been bothering me, thanks! great tutorial by the way!

Is this a substitute method to exporting from ZBrush to Maya and then retopologizing it using quad draw? Which of these methods gives better results? The other question I had is that after I use your method to convert the object into low poly and generate the normal map, how do I texture the model in Maya(,if I don't want to use Quixel). What will the workflow be in that case ?

Hi there, just wanted to ask if Maya is strictly necessary for this proccess? Did you only use Maya for the initial sculpting and then transfer? Would it be possible to do all these steps and work with only Zbrush and Xnormal?

great tut!! Is it better to bake with xnormal than with zbrush? Cos every single time when i bake with zbrush, the normal map in 3dsmax looks so weird... so jaded, faded and weird lines

Hi, this tutorial is great, but I have a question. knald and xnormals are still used because snormals no longer encunetro Now it has been replaced by other software? Thank you

Hi, this tutorial is great, but I have a question. knald and xnormals are still used because snormals no longer encunetro Now it has been replaced by other software? Thank you

Knald isntantly crashes when importing anything from Xnormals..... WTF i even paid for that junk

Thanks a lot, bro! It's most usefull tutorial. This video helped me to defeat the Zbrush))

Amazing Tutorial, Thank you so much. Im currently a broke student and was wondering if I can use Substance painter instead of Knald?

Not sure are you still active on youtube or not, but I have one question. So if you go low to high and then bake maps, does the low poly has to be bigger in size than high poly in order to do it, or you can build it up. In snort does the bake register only cracks or also the peaks too.

What if you just want to bake the high poly to low poly normals for use in Maya (for a scene and rendering it)? Would it be the same process and use Xnormal and Knald, or can Zbrush alone do what's needed for that?

So does that mean, zremesher is the lowpoly tool?

Hi film storm......i have little confusion did you applied that normal map for the z brush low poly [which is z resmeshed ]or maya base model which u have done initially

hey im sorry for asking but , why was there no changes in your wireframe when you subdivided the mesh at 4:35 . When I subdivided my mesh it turns into a heck ton of mini squares, so im wondering whats the difference with yours. Im also wondering if you have artstation. Thanks !

Thanks for the tut. At 14:13 I get a bit lost, you say ''lets work him up'' but I can not figure out what you did there. Could you clarify please?

How can I preserve smaller details on my model like spikes when zremeshing? The geometry gets a shrunk, faded or even a bit distorted after reprojection.

Hello, first of all you video ist very good explained. i am a noobie in Zbrush i try to scale some 3d models down but i have the problem i cant select all points. imgur.com/a/u9O78dF I dont know how to selct all points to activ points.

Woow.. This is a giant workflow.. I use only Cinema 4d and Xnormal (for the Unity) and I think my workflow is super fast and results are very good. I now that C4D isn't nearly that good for sculpt that Zbrush is, but it is good enought. And time is money.. BUT!!! This is fantastic tutorial. Thank you!

Great but how do I add all the maps onto the model and add the texture like you did with the paid photoshop plugin? Can I do all that in maya?

nice, so how about characters when you need to focus on animationable bends and combinations of hard and soft edges? just dropping down polycount in Zbrush wont do so how would you make it?

You can do all of this inside Substance Painter which seems much easier and quicker?

Hey thanks for this magical recipe! Btw what beastly computer did you have back then?

Super informative. This should have more views!

Is there a reason you do distance .2 for project instead of default?

How would you make LOD for a game engine such as Unreal Engine

Zbrush has the option of baking your Normal Map, why do you prefer to use Xnormal?

I was looking for a tutorial exactly like, lol. Great stuff as always, man.

oh my god! you fell from the sky dude! Nobody says the complete method how to prepare any 3d model to use in game engine or whatever job, but finally I found this! thank you very much!

Ok, i looked on the internet in search of an answer to my problem, but couldnt find any so i hope you can help me solve it... So my problem is when i try to import my High/Low poly model from Zbrush,Xnormal tell me my files dosent exist and to check if i named it correctly.... my file are OBJ format,but dosent look like yours in the video when you import ( I mean by that the ''F'' icon when selecting them...) Hope you can help me, and sorry for my english i dont speak it well :\

thank you so much saved my project and my life too

Hey! Thanks so much for this guide. Question, is xnormal better than baking the normal directly in Zbrush? Pros/cons?

thank you so much for the comeback... been waiting for new vids.. love your tutorials ;)

Before importing the model into unity, could you take the low poly into something like blender to animate the model, then bring that into Unity to have a fairly high res model from zbrush?

I am new for Zbrush , just wondering why you need to export the high and low obj both to a third part software to bake normal . I learned some tutorial that they just turn the subtool to low division mode and get the normal map in ZB directly ,then export the low division polygon directly . Can I know the reason you did for exporting ? thanks

how i can get rid of normal map seams

Would you substitute the baking process with Substance Painter as a good option?

Thank you!

thnaks a lot mate. you taught me a lot of new thing for a single day. Subbed liked faved!

Really aswesome tutorial, could have been a bit slower so we can follow more easily but not complaining, this really helped me with my 10+ rocks kit I'm doing for a game. Thanks !

When you divide the Low Poly, doesn't that make it High poly?

Am a beginner, and can you help me on how i can texture without quixel plugin?

thanks for the tutorial but its pein in the ass to crack all softwares and for knald its fucked up the normals in writing shit on it when its a demo version so

Am I correct in saying you don't need to unwrap/uv edit both models to make this work? I have a low poly mesh which im unwrapping now but my High poly isn't unwrapped and unwrapping it willl be a huge pain in the ass in hindsight. So Im wondering whether I will have issues because of this.

Hi bro. Great Tutorial, thanks. But i have problem: When i create a normal map from xNormal, i have some defects on it: pp.userapi.com/c841320/v841320065/43c8/JoRrDKHWw_g.jpg In zbrush all looks good. I already remesh my model many times. Create Seams in different ways, but Nothing works out :( This defects appear always in same place

So nice, thank you so much!

Awesome video man. Thanks for uploading Side note..I would adjust your mic levels slightly. Clicking of the mouse was a tad loud. Other than that, I'm definitely going to be using this for my low poly game

Awesome video dude!! Hey I have a question, i hope you can help me...lets say i have multiple subtools and each one's got its own UV map...If I combine them all into 1 subtool and they keep their UVs...will xNormal create the maps and arrange the UVs into a single texture map? Or do I need to manually arrange the UVs into a single texture map then use xNormal? I hope it makes sense Thanks!!!

Great tutorial and very cool principles to use for workflow from Zbrush to exporting low poly versions with normals etc. Well done dude!

Wow, thanks so much for this great tutorial - exactly what I needed! I love how you add in what you do personally in each program. It helps so much! Good vibes and happiness to you~

Six years later and this still is one of the clearest tutorials about the subject, thanks a LOT ! :D

Good stuff mate! You literally just saved my life! Worth my subscription

Thanks so much for this amazing tutorial and explanation. Helped me a great deal in understanding how retopology and normal maps work. Quick question: I haven't gotten started with Zbrush yet. Using Maya and Mudbox. I'm working on a character, and I modeled my basemesh in Maya, then exported it as an OBJ and imported that into Mudbox to sculpt on. The topology is more or less clean for animation, and doesn't cause any problems in Mudbox. Model's unwrapped too. From here, I'm thinking, once I'm done with the sculpt, I'll export the level 1 subdivision of the sculpted mesh as the base, and then use a normal map with the details of the level 5 or 6 mesh on it. To smooth out any hardness, I might use soften edge or something like that. The result will be a bit too heavy poly wise for games, but will it be all right as a functional model for an animated movie? Is this workflow in general OK? I do know there are better ways (including the one you demonstrated), and want to use them soon once I get a bit more familiar with 3d work. Once again, thanks for the superb tutorial. Peace, and have a great day.

I learned allot from this, I love this video!

its extremely useful tutorial.Thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge

Is normal map from xnormal different from the normal map from Zbrush?

Thanks .... Great Job , if u have tutorial for how can i convert the high poly to low poly without zbrush , share it plzzz

If possible make a lowpoly charachar.

Brilliant tutorial dude, Im so happy I found your channel and ill spread the love. One question though. How do you do LOD's for the rocks? Does Unity have that built in tessellation or something?

Thanks for the tutorial, would be nice to list all the software used. The title is a bit misleading thinking everything would be done in zbrush itself.

Thanks a lot.very very helpful.

Will you please tell me what is the name of Photoshop Plugin you used for this tutorial?

Great tutorial! Thanks for sharing! I have one question : How do u keep that original topology display in Zbrush after importing from Maya? The edges on the white material (3:50) is what I mean?

Finally I understand the full workflow. Thanks a lot! Ended up with a huge mesh in unity though.

Would you use the exact same process for a character model?

Can i use Bitmap 2 Material instead of Knald?

Damn, that brilliant tutorial of yours helped me finally make a workflow between Maya - Zbrush and Substance Painter with a nice and clean materialID in the end!!! Thanks a ton! Btw, since you are that good, maybe I can have an advice on what's the best way of making something like modular apartments? I imagine the exterior walls , holeways, appartments are all made separately from each other. So, I make, lets just say all the exterior walls in Maya first, split them to something like front,side,back and export one by one to Zbrush , making some details. What's next, how do I make them fit their topology once they are out of Zbrush and make it to a game engine? Or maybe it's much easier not to use Zbrush and vertex paint them in Unity? Thanks ;) Sorry if that's messed up ;)

so this is what they mean by 'workflow'..... Awesome awesome awesome tutorial! 😍😍

Amazing tutorial dude! This helped me loads. Way to go!

Damn you are the only video tutorial that full on this subject, thumb up, putt it in my favs! (Can you make a tutorial on how to make a simple street on maya/Zbrush? :3)

do i creat first the UVs and then merge all my subtools or can I merge all and then creat the UVs

Hi friend, first of all you are excelent teacher ^^, i have a question so here i go, if i have a one obj with multiples subtools, first i make a backup from the object and then i need to merge all and then zremesher, uv and project etc etc. Or i have to do this on all subtools separatly? Thanks for all and sorry my english.. im learning english and zbrush XDDD

19:28 knald enhances normal map to give more def

13:38 - I'm don't know, but my logic says to me that possible you need keep "Enable Control Painting". Without the "Enable Control Painting" the Zbrush ignore this function. But..it is Zbrush, made by UFO for UFO =)) p.s. very good the tutorial, thanks!

can you do this on zbrush core??

14:40 have low poly selected and the eye turned on, for the original high poly mesh

Best high poly > low poly on YT. Well done, mate.

If you turn off that microphone effect that makes you sound like you're on stage, you have another subscriber!

awesome tut man!

Thanks to mix and jam I found this gem of a channel...thank you for creating this tutorial 3 years old and still relevant....!!!!!!